


The Last Serenade

by Shipsorsanity



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: High School AU, M/M, Serenade au, billdip au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-20
Updated: 2016-06-20
Packaged: 2018-07-16 05:01:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,354
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7253482
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shipsorsanity/pseuds/Shipsorsanity
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bill Cipher and Dipper Pines are allies, working together to lighten their trigonometry workload. Bill sees that Dipper's depression gets in the way of their work, but productivity isn't the only reason he wants Dipper happy. Bill anonymously sings outside Dipper's window, but once he sees how it improves Dipper's mood, it's impossible for him to stop.</p>
<p>Until he's forced to.</p>
<p>Russian translation by Kukurumka here: https://ficbook.net/readfic/6481970</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Last Serenade

It was the last school night of the year and instead of studying for the last final exam, Bill sat in his room contemplating wether he should anonymously visit his friend like he'd done for the past few months or pretend he didn't exist.

Bill got up, grabbed his guitar, and climbed out his window.

Bill and Dipper weren't really friends, they were more like allies, tolerating each other just enough to do projects together or copy homework from the other.

For months at the beginning of the school year, Bill would do everything in his power to annoy Dipper, his favorite tactic being to call him Pine Tree whenever he wore a cap with a blue pine tree on it. But time passed and the need for an alliance became obvious, so Bill made a deal–if he and Dipper worked together, he would stop pestering him.

Inevitably, they would sometimes get off track and talk about something other than trigonometry.

Bill always knew that Dipper was passionate about what he loved and believed in. The first time Bill saw him was in a passing period, yelling at and dodging hits from a senior. When Bill saw Dipper in class at the end of that day, he was surprised at how soft spoken the boy really was.

(Bill later learned that the senior asked Dipper's twin sister out and wouldn't take no for an answer.)

In class, Bill let Dipper do most of the talking. Sometimes the boy would let something slip, like his embarrassing favorite song or his Big Dipper-shaped birthmark. Bill originally planned to use the information against Dipper, but never got an opportunity. He decided it wasn't worth it.

Sometimes in class, Bill could see the depression on Dipper's face. On these days, Dipper talked less and jokingly asked Bill to kill him so he wouldn't have to take tests the next day. Something inside Bill hated seeing Dipper so vulnerable. Bill blamed it on the lack of work getting done.

One night, Bill decided he was tired of Dipper feeling worthless. He looked up some chords, grabbed his guitar, and ran to Dipper's house.

Bill smiled as he remembered that first night. Dipper was looking out his window, which made it easy to find. Bill was wearing all black and a hood covered most of his face. Once he made himself visible, Dipper said "are you here to kill me? Go ahead."

Bill had been taken aback by his comment but instead said "Let me guess, studying for a test?"

Dipper was surprised. "How did you know?" He had asked.

Bill said "I'm supposed to be doing the same thing. I just thought it would be nice to do a little serenade for a friend."

Bill had expected an "are you crazy?!" or a "go away before I call the cops." Instead, Dipper leaned back and said "Alright, play then."

Bill never planned on returning to play for Dipper. It was meant for special occasions, for the most brutal tests. But Bill, for some reason, hated seeing Dipper upset, and he found that whenever he sang for him, Dipper was a little less upset.

The first few songs Bill sang had a _you've got this, just hang on_ vibe. They slowly transitioned to more of an _I care about you_ vibe. At the same time, Bill's feelings changed from _I dislike seeing you depressed_ to _I love seeing you smile_.

Of course, when Bill came on April first, he couldn't resist singing "Never Gonna Give You Up."

Dipper never mentioned his serenade in class, which made it easier to keep his identity a secret. Bill teased him whenever he suddenly smiled in class. Dipper said he was just remembering a really good song he heard on the radio.

Now, as he was running through backyards trying not to be seen, Bill knew that the last serenade would be that night.

Once he reached Dipper's house, he tapped on the window. Immediately after, Dipper opened the window and smiled. "Hey, I was starting to think you wouldn't make it."

Bill shrugged. "I was thinking."

"About what?" Dipper asked.

Bill sighed. "There's no easy way to say this. After tomorrow, I won't be here."

Dipper's face fell. "Oh. Why, are you moving? Did you forget to tell me?"

Bill said "No, it's just…my family moves around a lot, and we're moving again at the last minute. Tomorrow, after my final, specifically."

There was a long silence as Dipper took in the information. "So this is goodbye then?" He asked.

Bill smiled. "Not yet. There's still a few more songs to be sung." Dipper smiled.

"Remember that time you forgot your guitar?" Dipper asked as Bill tuned the instrument.

Bill smiled. "How could I? You gave me your sister's ukulele. I only knew one song on the ukulele."

Dipper smiled. "It was lovely though."

"Remember when you fell out your window?" Bill asked.

Dipper laughed and said "That was because you told me to take your hood off!"

Bill shrugged. "Well, you should have known better. I'd never take my hood off in front of you."

"And why's that?" Dipper asked. "I know, I know, anonymity and all that, but come on, what's the real reason?"

Bill looked down. His guitar was now well tuned, but he fiddled with the instrument to avoid the question.

Dipper was persistent. It was something Bill loved, but it was annoying at times. "Come on, why do you insist on keeping that hood on?"

Bill sighed and said "You'd be disappointed to see who I am. And if not, you'd still hate me."

Dipper shook his head. "You really think that?" He asked. "How could I hate you? You went out of your way all these nights just to sing for me. Just to make me feel better. Somehow you knew when I was feeling depressed, and you helped me. You showed that you care about me. How could I hate you for that?"

Bill smiled. Everything Dipper said, Bill knew it was true. He knew he had no excuse to keep his identity a secret. He still would, though. He'd grown accustomed to singing under a hood.

Bill strummed his guitar, beginning the first song. It was one of the first ones he sang to Dipper, and he let his feelings project through the lyrics.

Bill started the second song immediately after the first ended. Bill knew that Dipper loved hearing him sing it the most.

When that song ended, Dipper had tears in his eyes. Neither of them said anything.

Finally, Bill said "I have one more," which caught Dipper off guard. He usually sang only one or two songs, but he had something planned especially for that night.

Bill played the first chords of the last song he would sing for Dipper. Of course, Dipper didn't recognize the song. As Bill poured out his feelings through the lyrics, he watched Dipper's confusion change to shock as he realized that Bill wrote a song for him.

In his song, Bill told Dipper everything he felt about him. How much he loved him.

By the end, Dipper was crying and Bill was fighting back tears.

Bill didn't realize until the song had ended that he walked closer to Dipper's window and was now only a foot away from Dipper's face, his own face still hidden.

Neither of them spoke for what felt like an eternity to Bill. They were only putting off the inevitable goodbye.

Bill, although he didn't want to leave, was the first to speak. "Well, I guess this is good-" was what he got out before Dipper interrupted him by grabbing his sweatshirt and kissing him.

Bill kissed back after the shock of what happened disappeared. He kissed back and although it was a bit sloppy like all first kisses were, Bill thought it was perfect. He didn't want it to end.

When they let go of each other, Dipper asked "If this is the last time I'll see you, can I know who you are?"

Bill nodded and removed his hood.

Dipper's eyes widened and he said "It's–it's you!" with an excited smile.

"You're not disappointed?" Bill asked.

Dipper said "How could I be? I've had a crush on you since, like, September!" After realizing what he just said Dipper got quieter.

Bill smirked and said "That long, eh? Well, I'm sure you wouldn't mind me kissing you again."

An hour later, the two boys knew that they had to say goodbye to each other. They had been trying for ten minutes without success.

Finally, Bill kissed Dipper on the cheek and said "See you later, Pine Tree."

Dipper smiled and said "Goodbye for now, Bill."

Bill packed up his guitar and left without looking back.

That night, both boys cried for what could have been.

\---

Dipper's trigonometry final had been much easier than he had expected, considering he didn't study the night before. He glanced over at Bill, who was absentmindedly doodling on a piece of paper.

Dipper took out a piece of paper and wrote what ended up being three pages of a goodbye letter to Bill.

As soon as the bell rang, Dipper gave Bill the letter. "Don't read it until you're out of town." He said. Bill said nothing, but kissed Dipper and left.

\---

"Where are we going this time?" Bill asked his father as his family piled into their car.

"Can we go to New York?" One of Bill's siblings asked.

"No," Bill's father grumbled, "We're going to the smallest, most isolated town nobody's heard of. It's full of strangers that don't ask questions."

"What's it called?" Bill asked out of curiosity.

"Gravity Falls"

 

\---

Hours after school had ended, Dipper was still thinking about Bill. _I'll never see him again. He told my his family moved to escape their enemies. They'd have to go into hiding._

_Even if I saw him, I probably wouldn't recognize him._

Dipper's twin sister interrupted his moping and said "Heya bro bro, hope you're done packing! The bus leaves in half an hour."

Dipper said "Yeah, I'm done." He said as he grabbed a piece of paper to put in his bag. It was the lyrics to Bill's song.

Usually, the bus ride to their great uncles' house was full of excitement and conversation between the two twins, but that day, Dipper slept the whole way as Mabel talked to him about the clouds.

Dipper was dreaming about the night before when Mabel woke him up to tell him that they had arrived. Mabel pulled him off the bus and they walked towards the Mystery Shack.

Dipper smiled when he saw Stan and Ford standing outside the door of the Mystery Shack. He and Mabel broke into a run and tackled the two older twins.

"Hey kiddos, welcome back to Gravity Falls." Stan said. "The town's missed you."

They all entered the shack and Ford said "I have to go. An old friend is coming today."

Stan led the kids to their room in the attic and said "You guys just missed Wendy. She left for college a couple days ago."

Mabel and Dipper settled into their room. By this time, Mabel figure out something was up.

"What's wrong bro bro? Usually you're excited to be here. Now you're just all mopey."

Dipper sighed. "It's a long story." Mabel sat with her legs crossed, ready to listen. "Alright," Dipper said, "It started about six months ago…"

Dipper told Mabel about Bill and the songs he sang for him. By the time he was done he was crying and Mabel was hugging him. "It'll be alright, Dip. You're going to be okay."

Dipper smiled. "Thanks sis." He said. Then Mabel brought out a board game she brought and begged Dipper to play. He did.

After about ten games of Scrabble, Stan called the kids down. "Ford's got his friend over. His son's gonna be working for the shack, so he brought him to introduce to you guys. Be nice, play fair, all that jazz."

When the twins walked into the room, Ford said "Kids, this is Charles. Charles Cipher. He gave me the loan I needed for my first big experiment."

"Pleased to meet you," Dipper said as he shook Charles' hand.

Mabel, instead, said "Woah, cool eyepatch! What happened?"

Ford rolled his eyes as Charles told the story. _Apparently he tells it a lot,_ Dipper thought. He looked around and saw another pair of feet behind Charles. A blond teen poked his head out from behind his father and Dipper almost passed out.

"Bill?" Dipper asked, not believing his eyes.

Bill gasped and yelled "Dipper!"

The two boys ran to each other and hugged. "I can't believe it's you…" Dipper whispered, not fighting the tears that were rolling down his cheeks.

Stan laughed and said "Well, I guess the kids don't need to be introduced to each other."

Mabel jumped up and down with joy when she realized that her brother's lost serenader was in his arms.

"Your letter," Bill whispered, "You said we'd see each other again. I thought you were lying."

"I did too," Dipper said, making Bill laugh.

"You're a terrible liar. Fate knows it." Bill said, this time making Dipper laugh.

After the two boys stopped hugging, they held hands. "Um, Father," Bill said, "This is my…boyfriend…I had to leave behind."

Charles glared. "As long as he doesn't betray you and turn you over to the Phantom gang."

"I promise I won't." Dipper said.

\---

That night, Bill and Dipper sat on the grass outside the Mystery Shack, looking up at the stars.

Bill stood up and started humming a tune. He held his hand out to Dipper and said "Last night didn't have to be the last time I sing to you." Dipper smiled and took Bill's hand.

Bill sang for Dipper and they danced for hours, until they were exhausted. They fell asleep in the grass, holding hands and making silent promises to each other, that they would never be separated again.


End file.
